--- description: Once a prime movie holiday, the midsummer date has lost its luster title: Fourth of July Movies: The Demise of the Classic Summer Blockbuster image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e48fa2e49799749/69868881169ab01e6e27890e/tammy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # What Happened to the Big Fourth of July Blockbuster? by [Richard Corliss](/author/richard-corliss/) ## Richard Corliss Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 3, 2014 7:34 PM CUT  Susan Sarandon and Melissa McCarthy in 'Tammy' Susan Sarandon and Melissa McCarthy in 'Tammy'Michael Tackett / Warner Bros. Entertainment by [Richard Corliss](/author/richard-corliss/) ## Richard Corliss Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 3, 2014 7:34 PM CUT What could be more American than a typical July 4 holiday — the backyard party, the fireworks and then a big movie with lots more pyrotechnics and an engaging star? That was the tradition a decade or two ago, when Will Smith would often front a family-friendly action film. From the 1996 alien-invasion smash _Independence Day_ through _Men in Black_ in 1997 and its 2002 sequel up to the 2008 _Hancock_, the Fresh Prince was a founding father of explosive entertainment. This year America’s tentpole holiday is more like Arbor Day. The only new releases of any note were the Melissa McCarthy comedy _Tammy_ and a low-budget sci-fi film, _Earth to Echo_. Many moviegoers may be catching up with _Transformers: Age of Extinction_, last week’s hit — but in terms of pop-cultural impact, this July 4 is Indifference Day. One reason is that there aren’t many stars like Will Smith these days. Including Will Smith. _MIB 3_ in 2012 was the lowest-grossing film of the _Men in Black_ series, and _After Earth_, Smith’s daddy-day-care fantasy effort with his son Jaden, flopped ignominiously. The big recent July 4 hits — _The Amazing Spider-Man, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Despicable Me 2_ and the first three _Transformers_ movies — flourished on their franchise familiarity, not their star quality. Unless, that is, you once considered the _Transformers_ lead, Shia LaBeouf, a marquee lure. And even LaBeouf no longer calls himself a star. He appeared at this year’s Berlin Film Festival with a paper bag on his head. It read, “I am not famous anymore.” Mark Wahlberg, who replaces LaBeouf in _Age of Extinction_, is famous — a working-class star — and two years ago he helped the R-rated comedy _Ted_ to an Independence-week bonanza. McCarthy is trying to prove her comedy clout as a first-time top-billed attraction with the calamitous _Tammy_, which she co-wrote with her director (and husband), Ben Falcone. Will audiences find that it has the allure of McCarthy’s _The Heat_? Or will it be another vanity-film commercial failure like _After Earth_? And _Earth to Echo_ — why is that tiny film opening this week? The trailers promise a found-footage retake on _E.T._, with kids finding a cute alien that looks like Bubo from _Clash of the Titans_. So this year’s July 4 film fireworks may well be a rainout. The only hope for fans of star-vehicle action films is the rumor that Smith is to star in _Hancock 2_ — perhaps for Independence Day 2015? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2955005/fourth-of-july-movies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2955005/fourth-of-july-movies/"},"headline":"What Happened to the Big Fourth of July Blockbuster?","datePublished":"2014-07-03T19:34:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:58:33.728Z","description":"Once a prime movie holiday, the midsummer date has lost its luster","url":"https://time.com/2955005/fourth-of-july-movies/","keywords":["movies","fourth of july","independence day"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e48fa2e49799749/69868881169ab01e6e27890e/tammy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Richard Corliss","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/richard-corliss/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e48fa2e49799749/69868881169ab01e6e27890e/tammy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TAMMY","caption":"TAMMY","creditText":"Michael Tackett / Warner Bros. 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